Long Lasting Pump Battery?

NuggetN8

NuggetN8

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Mar 13, 2012
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Northern California
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Deep cycle marine batteries have the longest duty cycle and are designed for many more recharges after being fully drained than a standard battery.

Riding mower batteries have a short duty cycle meaning that they are designed for short bursts of full power during starting and not for long periods of steady drain. Short life if drained completely between recharges.

I use a battery from a power chair and while it is an expensive deep cycle battery it is close to the size and weight of a riding mower battery.
And will stand up to complete drains between recharging. Should run your 3 amp 12v pump for at least 15-20 hours between charges

GG~
 

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I got a deep cycle battery from walmart for 70 some odd dollars. Its heavy but if I am going to be carrying a battery anywhere I want it to last more than an hr.
 

I use a couple of scooter batteries. They are deep cycle gel type, sealed, rechargable. No worry about leaking if you pack them in, lightweight for their power reserves. I use them to power my pump on my recirc system when I pack it in somewhere and they will run my pump all day PLUS some. On ebay you can get them for about $24 each with free shipping. 12Amp Hour battery would give you about 3.5 hours per battery (probably real life around 2 1/2 to 3), but two of them would give you a good solid 5 or 6 hours and wouldn't be super heavy. You might also consider a 20 watt solar panel (fairly small), which would contribute during the day requiring less battery. So one 20 watt solar panel and one of those batteries would probably last all day. A 40 to 60 watt solar panel and you wouldn't need a battery at all.

Well I hope that helps. Good luck.
 

I power my bilge pump with a 12v black & decker removable battery from a cordless drill. They are cheap, small, light and rechargeable.

Food for thought.
 

Just to give you an idea of the size and weight of this Deep Cycle battery. Its an 18AH battery... Depending on what your after you can get larger AH batteries...

Deep Cycle.jpg
 

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Deep cycle marine batteries work very well and will last ya a long time without giving up the ghost from constant draining and recharging.

HOWEVER..... On my last trip to my dig site, the guy that was working next to me had a solar panel system that ran his pump all day and didn't need recharging. It consisted of eight panels that folded up to a point that they could be carried in a day pack with no problem. He never has to worry about a dead battery out in the field and he even had adapters that would allow him to charge his phone, run his laptop etc etc etc. I was impressed enough with how well the panels worked to find out the cost which was in the neighborhood of $350.
 

My wife is handicapped and I buy new power wheelchair and mobility scooter batteries every 2 years. She uses 2 55 amp hour and 2 75 amp hour sealed Gell Cells. When they hit 80% of capacity, we replace them,

If you know anyone that is handicapped, they also do the same sort of thing. You can usually get these 'used' batteries for free. Since they are sealed, they are not issues with the environment. a fully charged 55 amp hour (used) battery will run 2 1000 GPH bilge pumps for 15 to 20 hours (both pumps at the same time). I give my used batteries away when I don't need them (My current used batteries are all spoken for when I change out them next summer). These batteries set me back $150 to $200 each, and they always need to be replaced in the near future.

You might want to befreind some handicapped people with power mobility units - you should be able to find them all over. Please note, people don't advertise the used batteries, you have to know the people to get them.

Amazingly, most people treat people in wheelchairs and power mobility scooters like they have some contagious disease and often avoid eye contact, or act like they don't even exist - So, be nice to some of these people, and maybe you'll end up with a new friend along with some free high capacity batteries. My wife prospects with me even though she can't walk anymore - Her big 4 wheeled power scooter can carry a lot of heavy gear - at 11,000 feet above sea level, where we prospect, this is a wonderful thing. She is better at panning than I am.
 

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Thanks for the input everyone! Somebody gave me a couple of gel batteries for free so I'm testing them with my pump in the swimming pool to see how long they will last.
 

Well......... just for fun..............
I'm DYING to get a lithium battery one of these days.
1/5th the weight and 5-10 times the run time.
Then I decided to look up the price...
LOL
Not yet.....

Lithium Ion Boat Battery Package
 

goldhog said:
Well......... just for fun..............
I'm DYING to get a lithium battery one of these days.
1/5th the weight and 5-10 times the run time.
Then I decided to look up the price...
LOL
Not yet.....

Lithium Ion Boat Battery Package
Click to expand...

That's a price I would have a hard time releasing funds from my wallet.

100AH Battery Over half the price of the one you have shown, but again I would not spend that much on a battery.
 

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Let's see here... Li battery or a Viper from Doc. Three guesses which will come first and the first two don't count!!!!!
 

Ya........ I was shocked when I looked them up.
I figured I could get one for about $200 maybe.
$2500??????????????????
Holy cow.
LOL
 

Doc if your after a 100 AH battery I would take a look at this battery. Power Sonic has been around a long time (1970) supplying batteries for emergency lighting and exit signs.

POWER SONIC BATTERY
 

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LP13 said:
I use a couple of scooter batteries. They are deep cycle gel type, sealed, rechargable. No worry about leaking if you pack them in, lightweight for their power reserves. I use them to power my pump on my recirc system when I pack it in somewhere and they will run my pump all day PLUS some. On ebay you can get them for about $24 each with free shipping. 12Amp Hour battery would give you about 3.5 hours per battery (probably real life around 2 1/2 to 3), but two of them would give you a good solid 5 or 6 hours and wouldn't be super heavy. You might also consider a 20 watt solar panel (fairly small), which would contribute during the day requiring less battery. So one 20 watt solar panel and one of those batteries would probably last all day. A 40 to 60 watt solar panel and you wouldn't need a battery at all.

Well I hope that helps. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Since Im looking to put something like this to use. Do you have a breakdown of what you pack, what pack you use, you can pm me of course.
 

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